Editor's Note: The Kyiv Post is providing continuous coverage of the protests in Kyiv and other cities following the government's decision on Nov. 21 to stop European Union integration and end pursuit of an association agreement. The rallies started on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) and are continuing after the Nov. 28-29 summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, at which Ukraine and the EU failed to reach any agreement. The events can be followed on Twitter using hashtags #euromaidan and #євромайдан or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EuroMaydan.

Dec. 9, 10:55 p.m. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle issued a statement on Dec. 9 in support of Ukraine's European aspirations and condemning violence. Below is the text of the statement.

"The demonstrations over the weekend on Independence Square in Kyiv have shown once again that the Ukrainian people’s yearning for Europe is still very much alive.

It would be fatal for the peaceful protests to be undermined by pressure, threats or violence, no matter from which side.

The freedom of opinion and assembly must be protected by all government authorities; the protests must not be used as an excuse to perpetrate acts of violence. The law of criminal procedure is certainly not the right tool to apply in order to find a good solution." --Katya Gorchinskaya

Klitschko brothers face off with police, tractor

Volodymyr Klitschko against the tractor.

Dec. 9, 10:45 p.m. Both celebrity boxing brothers, Vitali and Volodymyr Klitschko spent the evening defending protesters on Shovkovychna Street, in the government block, where police attempted to push them off. Volodymyr Klitschko stopped a tractor from advancing towards the crowd of protesters, said the press service of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), which is led by his older brother Vitali. --Katya Gorchinskaya

Some 5,000 people remain on Maidan

Dec. 9, 10:38 p.m. Around 5,000 people remain on EuroMaidan now, some go and change those who're on barricades, some just walking around, the access of traffic to Independence square is blocked from all sides of the square by buses and law enforcement officers. --Anastasiya Forina

Dec. 9, 10:12p.m. US Vice PresidentJoe Biden called Viktor Yanukovych, expressing “deep concern” about the political turmoil in the European nation and warning against a violent crackdown on protesters. “In a phone call today with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Vice President Biden expressed his deep concern about the situation in Ukraine and the growing potential for violence,” said the White House in a statement, media reports. -- Olena Goncharova

A second Lenin monument is down

Dec. 9, 10:00 p.m. Another Lenin monument was toppled in Ukraine last night, this time in the town of Kotovsk in Odesa region, Ukrainian media reported. It followed the first Lenin statue, which was brought down by Svoboda activists on the night of Dec. 8.

Parts of Lenin monument are lying on the ground in the town of Kotovsk, Odesa region.

The remains of a Lenin monument in the town of Kotovsk, Odesa region.

Shops and restaurants in central Kyiv are shutting down

Dec. 9, 8:13 p.m. Shops and restaurants in the center of the city are closed, including McDonald's restaurants. Their representatives are saying they are closing because of instructions they recently received from managers. Earlier, posts on Facebook and twitter suggested that retail and restaurant businesses were ordered to shut down at 8 p.m. -- Aleksandra Kovaleva

Police says attack on Batkivshchyna office was sanctioned by court

Dec. 9, 7:54 p.m. The Interior Ministry said the attack on Batkivshchyna's office was sanctioned by court due to two criminal cases, which involve alleged fraud and abuse of office. The police said a group of citizens reported to the police that a company, located on 19-B Turivska (an address on the same street as Batkivshchyna office is located) allegedly illegally seized computer equipment worth Hr 350,000. Moreover, they complained that officials from this company abused their authority.

During the search computer equipment and documents were confiscated as evidence in the criminal investigation. -- Interfax-Ukraine

Maidan stage is empty, protesters continue to arrive

Dec. 9, 7:35 p.m. The stage on Maidan Nezalezhnosti is empty, there are no speakers there. Not a lot of people, they are disorganized. People continue to arrive every minute. Soldiers of internal troops stationed here do not really understand what is going on. They were completely cut off from information for the last 2 weeks. No propaganda for the soldiers from the stage. Only a few protesters trying to talk to them. --Aleksandra Kovaleva

Police officers stand in line in front of toilets in downtown Kyiv on Dec. 9.

Berkut forces 'ready to attack'

Dec. 9, 7:35 p.m. Berkut special forces and interior ministry troops are just half a meter from protesters on Luteranska Street near the presidential administration. They have cut the barbed wire, and say they are ready to attack.

The general in charge said he was not responsible for Berkut riot police at the scene, just the Interior Ministry troops. He said that he received a court order to clear the way so that municipal services can pick up their property and take charge of their duties. -- Vlad Lavrov

Kyiv Post website has been down, a DDoS attack may be a reason

Dec. 9, 7:23 p.m. Kyiv Post website has been down for about an hour, a DDoS attack a possible suspected reason.-- Katya Gorchinskaya

Titushki help police disassemble barricades on Luteranska

Dec. 9, 7:00 p.m. A group of young people dressed titushki-style started disassembling protester barricades on Luteranska Street, right by the president's administration, apparently working in cooperation with troops. --Vlad Lavrov

"They've turned the server room into a mess… Searches are under way and the doors of the Batkivschyna Party's office are being broken down," Yatseniuk said at a briefing. "No parliamentarians are let into the office," he said. "All the equipment has been damaged.”

Yatseniuk says he believes that this has been done on President Viktor Yanukovych's personal order. However, he stressed that the opposition would not succumb to any provocation. There are neither provocations, nor clashes at the moment, he said. -- Interfax-Ukraine, Christopher J. Miller, Kyiv Post

Batkivshchyna office is taken over by SBU

Dec. 9, 6:30 p.m. A Kyiv Post reporter who was inside the Batkivschyna headquarters when law enforcement stormed the office through doors and windows says that masked men dressed in all black and carrying machine guns ordered people to stay where they were while the group physically removed the party's server. Meanwhile, a group of Berkut officers guarded a bus outside. Some of the men in black had "MVS" Ministry of Interior symbols on their uniforms. After removing the server, it was quickly loaded on the bus and then driven away.

The police said none of their troops are taking part in the takeover of Batkivshchyna. "The Kyiv police and the troopers of Berkut are not conducting any operations on Turoivska in the Berkut office," the police said in a statement. In the meantime, both Batkivshchyna and Svoboda websites were down. Svoboda spokesman Yuriy Syrotiuk said that he does not know what's happening to their office. "We're being attacked by the Verkhovna Rada. A male lawmaker and a female journalist were just injured (by special police troopers," he said. -- Christopher Miller, Katya Gorchinskaya

Dec. 9, 5:50 p.m. Batkivchyna, the biggest opposition party, had its office on Turivska Street in Podil taken over by special security forces carrying guns. "In the corridor we have people with machine guns, trying to break through into server rooms," says Ostap Semerak, a Batkivshchyna member. -- Katya Gorchinskaya

Berkut
commander: No plans to attack protesters at Independence Square

Dec. 9, 5:41 p.m. Andriy
Tkachenko, the commander of a group of Berkut riot police from the eastern
Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk told media that the group has no orders or
plans to disperse protesters from Independence Square. -- Vlad Lavrov

Police demounting barricades by the Cabinet

Dec. 9, 5:17 p.m. Interior troops surrounded
the protesters by the Cabinet on Hryshevskiy Street. Down the street
there are two rows of interior troopers, each made up of 120
officers. Another 150 people are standing by on the sidewalk. Up the
street from the Cabinet the street is blocked with police buses. All
property, tents and barricades of the protesters are being removed by
the police, but there have been no clashes. --Interfax-Ukraine

Expert: Situation between police, protesters could take drastic turn at any moment

Dec. 9, 5:13 p.m. As reports come in of clashes between protesters and police, Oleksandr Sushko,
Research Director at Institute
for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, tells the Kyiv Post that there currently are not enough police forces
on the ground to stage a major takeover of Independence Square and occupied
government buildings, but that the situation could be changed at a moment’s
notice.

“The overall picture is unpredictable,” he says. “Confidential
sources say that (Yanukovych) wants to remove Maidan before (EU High Representative for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice-President Catherine) Ashton comes. That means probably at
night.”

Ashton will arrive in Ukraine on Dec. 10 in order to help find
a solution out of the current political crisis here, a source at the European
Commission told Interfax-Ukraine in Brussels.

Ashton is expected to meet with all parties involved
in the conflict, including the state’s leadership, the opposition and civil
society.

“People will resist depending on the situation, but
the main question is what happens the next day,” Sushko says.”As some people
say, if we surrender, there will be Belarus, if not – Yugoslavia.” -- Christopher J. Miller

Police clash with protesters on Bankova Street

Dec. 9, 4:43 p.m. Clashes reported between protesters and police at barricades on Bankova Street, near the presidential administration. Police there are attempting to push protesters further back from the police line. -- Oksana Grytsenko

A row of interior troops stands in front of Berkut, a special riot police unit, on Instytutska Street, close to the president's administration. Ukrainian media found that the same set up of troops was used on Dec. 1 when there were clashes on police and potesters.

Special police forces gather on Bohomoltsa Street near the presdential administration before they moved in and clashed with protesters on Bankova Street around 4:30 p.m.

Internal troops on Khreshchatyk Street on Dec. 9. A priest is conducting a service for them as protesters and media representatives look on.

Opposition leaders to give press briefing

Dec. 9, 2:58 p.m. As a crowd of more than 1,000 people continues to grow at Independence Square opposition leaders are discussing whether to meet with President Viktor Yanukovych to negotiate a peaceful solution to the situation in Kyiv. Party heads Vitali Klitschko of UDAR, Oleh Tiahnybok of Svoboda and Arseniy Yatseniuk of Batkivshchyna will address the media at 4 p.m. inside the Trade Union building. -- Oksana Grytsenko

4 p.m. opposition leaders will

Opposition leaders tell protesters to remain calm

Dec. 9, 2:47 p.m. Opposition party leaders and members are asking protesters not to
panic. “If somebody deicdes to apply force now, millions will come to the
streets,” Svoboda party deputy Ihor Shvaika said. “Yanukovych is afraid
of so many people.”

He said that some 1,000 policemen of the
special Tiger unit are now in Kyiv. About 300 of them were moved to defend
Mazhyhiriya, the president’s palatial estate outside the city. -- Oksana Grytsenko

Medical stations being set up in case of clashes

Volunteer guards are on the lookout inside the city hall, waiting for an attack by the police.

Protesters are preparing for an attack on the city hall.

A volunteers is setting up mats and medication in preparation for an attack in city hall.

Dec. 9, 2:37 p.m. Andriy Posikira, a doctor on duty at Kyiv city
hall said that he and other volunteer medical staff are ready to attend to those wounded by clashes with police if it should come to that.

“We’re setting up to receive lighter injuries here, and will try to
evacuate the more seriously injured victims, if they allow us, of course," he said.

Posikira advised reporters on the scene and
those coming to have gas masks.

More than 100 fighters inside city hall are armed with makeshift
weapons, such as sticks, and many have padded mats cello taped around their arms and
legs. Some are stationed by the window to watch
for police advancement. -- Katya Gorchinskaya

US ambassador says demonstrations must be allowed to continue

Dec. 9, 2:29 p.m. U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt took to Twitter to say that as long as protests remain peaceful, they should not be stopped.

"Peaceful demonstrations must be allowed to continue. Dialogue and non-violence key, world watching. Opportunity must not be lost," Pyatt wrote.

Meanwhile, hundreds of special police units in riot gear have gathered near protesters outside City Hall and around Independence Square. -- Christopher J. Miller

Protesters ready for attack, police presence growing

Dec. 9, 2:15 p.m. Special police units are blocking Khreschatyk
Street at the intersection with Khmelnytskoho Street adjacent to the barricades
of protesters. They appear to be standing by, waiting for orders. A priest is
currently in front of the police and is holding a service. Protesters joke with
police, inquiring about their parents and children.

By city
hall, things remain peaceful but tense. Protesters there say there is a “high
possibility” of an attack, due to the court-ordered deadline for them to leave
the premises. They say they are prepared. A makeshift medical center has been set up with mats on the floor, medicine, cotton bandages. Furniture is set up near the entrace, making it easy to quickly barricade the front entrance. -- Katya Gorchinskaya

Protesters blocking exit and entrance of Khrshchatyk metro stop

Dec.9, 2:15 p.m., Protesters are blocking exit and entrance of Khreshchatyk metro stop. They fear that Berkut police officers will come from there to storm the occupied government's buildings. -- Vlad Lavrov

Protesters block underground exits and entrances, and line the steps with slippery plastic to prevent a police raid (@adagamov on Twitter)

Four presidents to discuss situation in Ukraine

Dec. 9, 1:57. President Viktor Yanukovych is going to discuss the situation in the country with three Ukraine's former presidents, Viktor Yushchenko, Leonid Kuchma and Leonid Kravchuk. The meeting is scheduled for Dec. 10. Also, Kravchuk addressed Yanukovych asking him to held a meeting with representatives of government and opposition to find the compromise. Yanukovych's official website says "the president agreed to do that."

Dec. 9, 1:42 p.m. Protesters are unraveling water hoses inside city hall, which they say they are ready to use to defend against an impending police raid. One protester told the Kyiv Post that they will spray them from the first floor windows. -- Vlad Lavrov

EU representatives come to the city center

Dec. 9, 1:35 p.m. David Stulik of EU Embassy
says there are at least several representatives of European embassies by
the city hall. "They're there and seeing it all," he says. --Katya Gorchinskaya

Jose Manuel Barroso admires Ukrainian youth

Dec. 9, 1:28 p.m. European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso just tweeted: "Those young people in the streets of #Ukraine, with freezing temperatures, are writing the new narrative for #Europe."

WARNING FROM THE KYIV POST TEAM

Dec. 9, 1:02 p.m. A top government source confirmed to
the Kyiv Post that a decision was taken to use force against
protesters. The attack seems imminent, but no details are available
at the moment. --Katya Gorchinskaya

Only press allowed into city hall

Dec. 9, 1 p.m. Police are allowing only press to pass through barricades and enter city hall. Inside, some 200-300 people are there in helmets and gas masks. They say that they are prepared to defend the building from law enforcement. -- Vlad Lavrov

Police gather near city hall.

Government workers evacuated from city center

Dec. 9, 12:58 p.m. Government workers have been evacuted from the Kyiv city center as police in riot gear move in a set up barricades on Khreschatyk Street, according to a source in the European Union delegation to Ukraine who asked that he remain anonymous because he was not allowed to speak publicly. -- Christopher J. Miller

Police say they're simply protecting from provocateurs

Dec. 9, 12:40 p.m. 30 riot police now moving down Mikhaelivska Street toward Maidan. Police say there is no panic, they are here to protect public against provocateurs. Yuriy Lutsenko arrived there. He is not concerned about these police. But concerned about Berkut approaching city hall. Group of police in riot gear standing on Maidan say they are there only to ensure public order. -- Vlad Lavrov and Oksana Grytsenko

Party of Regions says "adequate force" may be used to free city hall

Dec. 9, 12:40 p.m. Senior member of the Party of Regions Volodymyr Oliynyk said "adequate" force may be used to free up city hall. "There is a court decision - to unblock. Can there be forceful methods? If peope are simply blocking (as it's done in Europe), they are taken by the arms and legs and are taken out, get administrative protocols and bear responsibility," Oliynyk said.

You cannot use illegal force against citizens, but "there is such a notion as adequate force," he said. --Interfax-Ukraine

Police units are blocking city center, governmental buildings

Dec. 9, 12:40 p.m. Special police units are
blocking Klovskiy Uzviz. Other units are reportedly closing in on Lesi
Ukrainki Blvd, Mykhailivska Street. A high-ranking source in the
government told Kyiv Post that none of the generals in the law
enforcement units are picking up the phone. A large convoy of Berkut
riot police officers has entered the courtyard of the National Radio
Company of Ukraine, which is located at 26 Khreschatyk Street.
An Interfax-Ukraine reporter said that a large column of servicemen of
interior troops is on Mykhailivska Square. UDAR Party leader Vitali
Klitschko is also on the square, and he is holding talks with police
officers.Police is blocking Khreschatyk Street in front of the barricade. -- Katya Gorchinskaya, Vlad Lavrov

Internal ministry troops were spotted on Klovskyi uzviz on Dec. 9.

Tension is building up in city center, special police units near Kyiv City Hall

Dec. 9, 12:30 p.m. With multiple reports of the
metro being closed off for work, and special police units closing on
the city center, Ukraine's Facebook and twitter community exploded
with messages warning of an imminent attacks on peaceful demonstrators.There is big sign on screen in Kyiv city hall that everyone needs to come out on street. There are about
200-300 people inside, mostly male, some medical volunteers among them.
Vitaliy Kupriy, lawyer for Svoboda party, expecting attack on Kyiv city hall.
They are preparing water cannons, he says.
Everyone told to pack and take personal belongings. Call on all interior
ministry troops approaching.
They say they are prepared to defend the site. They claim that
authorities have blocked three metro stations. Warning people not to use
the metro system.
Police buses are there. Three police buses stopped nearTSUM. -- Katya Gorchinskaya, Chris Miller

Three metro stations in Kyiv are believed to be mined

Dec. 9, 12 p.m. Teatralna, Khreshatyk and Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro stations are believed to be mined. The stations are closed for entry and exit, metro workers help to evacuate the passengers. Currently Kyiv City Metro press service doesn't confirm the information about mining. -- Nataliya Trach

Dec. 9, 11:45 a.m. Arseniy Yatseniuk, Sergiy Pashynskyi from Batkivshchyna party received prosecutor's summons regarding the case against police for abuse of office, which happened on Nov. 30. Pashynskyi is going to face prosecutor's office today at 11 a.m., while Yatseniuk is sheduled to come to prosecutor's office later this week, Ukrainska Pravda reports. -- Olena Goncharova

Special police units blocked in Vasylkiv, some 18 buses with police were seen in Kyiv

Dec. 9, 11:27 a.m. Activists managed to block the buses carrying police officers in Vasylkiv. However, some 18 buses break the blockade, Taras Kutovyi from UDAR party said. The buses were seen in cental Kyiv, in Pechersk district, reads the report on UDAR party website. Other buses were taken back to the barn in Vasylkiv. -- Olena Goncharova

Students block the main building of Taras Shevchenko National University

Dec. 9, 10:40 a.m. Hundreds of students gathered near the main building of Taras Shevchenko National University, located on Volodymyrska Street. They're calling for strike and don't let anyone to get inside. -- Olena Goncharova

Students gathered next to the entrance of Taras Shevchenko National University on Dec. 9. @distilleryimage11 from Instagram

Activists block buses with special police units in Vasylkiv

Dec. 9, 10:29 a.m. Activists have blocked buses carrying police officers near the TNK filling station in Vasylkiv, located not far from Kyiv. Special police units, which are believed to have been sent from Crimea, are heading to Kyiv, eyewitnesses write on Twitter. Taras Berezovets, a political consultant and director of Kyiv-based Berta Communications, wrote on Facebook that around 1,500 Berkut officers are now heading to Vasylkiv to oust those who have blocked police buses. -- Olena Goncharova

Internal troops’ officers are seen in Vasylkiv on Dec. 9. Photo from Andriy Pyshnyy Facebook page.

Apart from blocking the
government buildings, Ukrainians are releasing demotivators for senior
government members. One of the latest ones to get popular on facebook is
a mock poster of a movie called "Mezhygirya. The last 10 days," which
refers to the president's lavish estate north of Kyiv. The poster
features names of Viktor Yanukovych, Mykola Azarov, Vitaliy
Zakharchenko, Serhiy Arbuzov, and Andriy Klyuev as actors of the movie. -- Katya Gorchinskaya

The new demotivator pops up in social network.
From Dmitry Atamanchuk's Facebook page.

First snow and barricades result in traffic jams

Dec. 9, 10 a.m. First snow and barricades in the city center resulted in traffic jams in the capital in the morning of Dec. 9, according to online traffic services, such as Yandex Probki. In the meantime, Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) released a statement apologizing to Kyivans for barricading many government buildings and surrounding roads, which aggravates the problem.

“We're forced to do it to pressure the authorities which are not hearing the citizens who came out with a protest to Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv and to squares in other cities of Ukraine,” said UDAR statement released in the middle of the night. “Today, we're standing together for our future.” -- Katya Gorchinskaya

‘Lying’ protest in front of General Prosecutor’s office

Dec.9, 9:30 a.m., Democratic Alliance party is holding its second ‘lying’
protest in front of the building of General Prosecutor’s office. Participants
of the rally are lying on the mats next to the entrance of the office asking
for release of arrested activists who took part in the rally in front of
Presidential Administration on Dec.1. They are chanting ‘Freedom to guiltless’. -- Anastasia Forina

Participants of the rally are lying on the mats next to the entrance of the of General Prosecutor’s office. (facebook of Democratic Alliance party)

Despite fears, there were no attacks in the night

An Ukrainian woman holds a cup of hot tea during a heavy snowfall at the Independence Square in Kyiv on December 9, 2013. Pro-EU Ukrainian demonstrators kept up their protest against President Viktor Yanukovych after symbolically toppling the statue of the Soviet Union's founder Vladimir Lenin during a gigantic rally in Kyiv.

Dec. 9, 8:45 a.m. Despite fears of strike organizers, the night of Dec. 8 was peaceful. There were no attacks on demonstrators, who continue to camp on Independence Square and block the Cabinet building.

People warm up by the fire early in the morning on Dec. 9, after spending a peaceful night in the streets.

Olesya Orobets, a lawmaker from Batkivshchyna party, warms up by the fire early in the morning on Dec. 9.

SEE KYIV POST COVERAGE OF THE NOV. 30 POLICE CRACKDOWN ON EUROMAIDAN HERE:

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